Slow Down
by Menelya
Summary: L/J. Lily, James, and crew in their sixth year. pre-ootp.
1. Introductions and a Train Ride

**DISCLAIMER:**  Anything that was in any Harry Potter book belongs to J.K. Rowling, not me.  If you see something that wasn't in the Harry Potter books, then I suppose it's mine.  

**A/N**:  It's been done over and over again, I know, but this is another James and Lily story to throw into the mix.  I suppose you would call this AU now because of what happened in OOTP.  Or you could call this a pre-OOTP.  Whichever tickles your fancy.  Read, enjoy, review (please).  

Slow Down Chapter One - Introductions and a Train Ride. 

            A red-haired Lily Evans woke up to a knock on the door.  She groggily eyed the door with her green almond shaped eyes.  

            "Lily, if you don't get up now, you're going to miss your train," said her mother's muffled voice through the door.

            Lily waited until she heard footsteps going downstairs before reluctantly getting out of bed.  Today was her first day back to school, and despite her slow movements to get ready, was actually very excited to get back to it.  Not really because of the classes, although some were very peculiar, but because she hadn't seen her friends all summer.

            Lily finished putting on her clothes and brushing her shoulder length wavy hair before going downstairs.  She walked into the kitchen and grabbed a piece of toast that was sitting on the table.  Slowly she ate it while looking around at the familiar surroundings that she wouldn't see for around almost nine or ten months. 

            As she did every year on September first, Lily was going away to school.  She had been doing this ever since she had turned eleven and had learned about magic.  Lily Evans just happened to be a witch who was going into her sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.  

            "Lily," called her dad.  "We have to go.  Get your trunk and come get in the car."  Lily stuffed the rest of her toast into her mouth and grabbed her trunk.  She was halfway out to the car when she ran back inside to grab a bag, which had her school robes that she would change into.  

An hour later, Lily was found saying goodbye to her parents and her sister, Petunia, at King's Cross Station. 

            "Yes mum, I'll be careful.  No dad, I won't go sneaking around with guys after curfew.  No Petunia, I won't send owls to your friend's houses.  But I am glad nobody asked me not to hop on a broom and fly to Germany," joked a bored Lily.  She laughed at her parents' horrified faces.  "I'm kidding.  I'll owl you soon.  I have to go through the barrier now, or I'll never find a seat on the train.  Bye!"  

            The redhead ran straight at the seemingly solid brick barrier and soon found herself on Platform 9 3/4 with twenty minutes to spare.  She pushed her way through the crowd of eager students, scared first years, and concerned parents to the train.  Lily put her trunk on the train, and with her bag on her shoulders, went in search of her friends.  

            After a couple of minutes of checking compartment after compartment, Lily started to hear some soft singing.  She listened intently before heading in the direction of the music.  When she was almost at the end of the train, she finally got to the compartment where the singing was coming from.  She looked in through the window to make sure it was her friends before opening the door and stepping inside.

            "I figured if I followed the singing it would bring me to you two," said Lily as she shut the door and turned around.

            "Lily!" both girls in the compartment cried.  They both got up and gave Lily a hug.  

            The tallest girl, Kyne Burcent, sat back down and pulled Lily into the seat next to her, while the other girl, Shea Ulric, laid down in the seats across from them.  

            Kyne and Shea were Lily's two closest friends.  They were also the first friends Lily had made when she first came to Hogwarts.  The three of them were friends ever since they met in their first year on the train.  Kyne and Shea both had explained to Lily about the wizarding world and everything that they had known about Hogwarts.  They told her about the four houses, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin, quidditch, the most popular wizarding sport, and about Dumbledore, the headmaster at Hogwarts.  

            Kyne Burcent was the tallest out of all three girls.  She was around 5'7", and _never_ let Lily or Shea forget it.  Kyne was the most diverse looking of the group.  Her curly, dirty blonde hair went almost past her shoulder blades, but because she dyed it a dark red, almost nobody had seen her natural hair colour.  Her round, dark blue eyes were usually shining with amusement, and her emotions could be read just by looking at her face.  She was a very loud and bold person, and often protected her friends.

            Shea Ulric was the shortest one of the group.  She was a whopping 5'2" and was _very_ proud of it.  Her straight black hair went down to her waist and was slightly blue at the ends.  She had almond shaped eyes that were dark brown.  They could hold all the emotion in the world, but in the blink of an eye, could be devoid of anything seen there before.  She was extremely good at keeping her emotions to herself and hardly ever let herself blow up at people.  

            The three girls talked for a while about their summers before Shea got bored and stood up to look into the rack above their heads that held all of their bags.  Shea found her's and pulled it down.  She took out a muggle radio.  Lily started to wonder why Shea had brought it, so she asked.

            "Shea?"

            "Well," she answered the unasked question.  "First of all, we aren't at Hogwarts yet are we?  So it should work until we get there, right?" she waited for Lily to nod before going on.  "That, and I happen to know that you found a charm last year that made your hairdryer work even though that was electronical," she said the last part with a little smile, while Lily and Kyne sat there with surprised faces.

            Just then, the door to the compartment opened and let in four boys.  A tall boy with black hair ran over to Shea, who was still standing, picked her up, and started to spin her around.  

            "Sirius Black!"  Shea nearly yelled.  "Put me down!"  She swatted at his head while laughing at her friend's antics.  He spun her around a couple more times before letting her down.  He looked around the compartment for a free spot to sit in, and saw one next to Kyne.  He walked over to her, got down on one knee, and took her hand.  She raised an eyebrow at him.

            "Miss. Burcent."

            "Mr. Black?" she played along.

            "Will you do me the honor," he paused, "of letting me sit here?"  She hit him over the head.

            "Of course Sirius.  Sit down."  

            The other three boys who had walked in and sat down sniggered.  They were James Potter, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew.  Together they made up the infamous Marauders that played pranks on unsuspecting students, teachers, and ghosts alike.  Possibly the only ones immune to their pranks were the three girls, but that was probably because they helped out with various charms and gave alibis.  

            "Sorry about him," said Remus.  "We hope you don't mind us sitting here."  Remus was probably the most refined out of the four guys.  He had light brown hair and grey blue eyes that were always kind unless you got him mad.  Lily preferred talking to Remus out of all the marauders.  He was good to have a conversation with.  

            "That's ok.  We don't really mind.  We were actually getting kind of bored, weren't we, Shea?"  Lily replied.  Shea stuck her tongue out at Lily in retaliation before she returned to talking to James who laughed at the two girls.  James had incredible hazel eyes that were usually found behind thin-rimmed glasses.  His hair was always in a state of disarray and no matter what he did, it always stuck up at odd angles.  

            Lily looked around the compartment in wonder.  She was good friends with Remus.  He had been the only real connection she had had with the marauders before 5th year.  He was usually considerate of other people, although he did have a cheeky side.  

Lily didn't know Peter all that well because they never got around to talking.  He was also extremely shy, and didn't talk all that much.  He seemed to talk to Kyne, but she wouldn't exactly call the two close.  

Lily didn't know exactly what to think of James yet.  She had gotten to know him better through the last year because they had both been made prefects.  They had gone to meetings together, and patrolled together, and the whole time he had been sweet, funny, and nice, but Lily didn't know or rather didn't want to say how she actually felt about him.  

Lily thought Sirius's antics were funny, and she was friends with him through Shea.  He and Shea were extremely close.  He probably knew more about her than Kyne and Lily did.  

"Lily?"  A voice broke into her thoughts.  It was Remus.

"Yes?"  

"Are you ok?  You spaced out for a bit."  

"Yeah, I'm fine," she answered.  "I was just thinking."

"Well then do you want to play wizards chess?"

"Remus," Lily whined.  "You know you always beat me when we play."  He smiled a bit evilly.

"That's why I like to play you," he retorted.  She slapped his arm lightly.  

"Fine, let's play," she told him, knowing that she'd be conned into playing with him somehow or another.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~                        ~*~*~*~*~*~*~                             ~*~*~*~*~*~*~

            About twenty moves later there were a dozen smashed pieces, a fallen king, and a defeated Lily.  Remus and Lily sat on the floor where they had set up the game, while Sirius was sleeping against the window with his legs spread out all over the seats on his side.  Kyne was currently sleeping too and was using Sirius as a pillow.  Shea had watched the chess game for a while before taking out a book and reading.  James had brought out an old looking piece of paper and was talking to Peter.

            Lily moved back so that she was leaning against the wall.  She looked over to where Kyne and Sirius were and gave them an odd look that Remus caught as he moved to sit beside her.  They both laughed as Kyne tried to roll over, but ran into one of Sirius's legs.  Peter and James were the only ones talking.  

            "We could put a charm on it that would show our own writing on it," said Peter.

            "Yeah, but why would we need that?" James asked him in reply.  Lily wondered what they were talking about.  The guys let the girls in on some things, but other times they were so tight lipped about things.  "I guess we could put a security charm on it.  Say, if someone tried to open up the, "he looked up and saw Lily looking at him.  "Well, if someone tried to open it, it would reply to him or her by insulting them.  Or if they said their name to it, it would tell the person what we thought of them.  And that could be in our writing."  

            "But we'd need somebody who knows the charms for all that."  

            "Yeah I guess we would, or we would have to do a lot of research," James looked up at Lily who now had her eyes closed and her head tipped back against the wall.  She stifled a laugh as Sirius mumbled something about raining ducks and flying sausage.  He lowered his voice.  "We could always ask Lily.  She's never not agreed to help us before.  Or if not help us, give us the spells to work ourselves," said James.  

            "When are you going to ask her?"  

            "I'll see if Remus'll do it.  She always helps us if he wants her to," whispered James so that Lily couldn't hear him.  James was a little jealous of his friend.  He wanted to be close with Lily, and although they were friends, they didn't have a really close friendship yet.  And so long as Sirius didn't find out, he would actually admit that he had somewhat of a crush on the redhead.  If Sirius found out, he'd probably go around trying to set them up.  Sometimes Sirius acted like such a girl.  

~*~*~*~*~*~*~                       ~*~*~*~*~*~*~                               ~*~*~*~*~*~*~

            A couple hours later, all seven teenagers had changed into their robes and were leaving the train.  The marauders all got into one carriage, while the girls found their own.  

            Shea looked over at her two friends.  Kyne was still a little groggy from her nap on the train with Sirius, so Shea decided to play around with her.

            "So Kyne, did you have a good nap?" she asked innocently.

            "Shut it Shea," was the response, which sent both Lily and Shea into a fit of laughter.  Kyne had gotten a surprise when she woke up.  One of Sirius's arms was draped over her waist, while one of her hands was on his chest.  She had squeaked and shifted which woke Sirius up.  He had looked down at her and had barely muttered a hello there before she tried to get up which was nearly impossible because their legs were tangled.  So as she tried to roll off the seats, Sirius had to roll off the seats too, which made them end up with Sirius on top of Kyne on the floor, just inches from Remus.  The rest of the compartment had been in hysterics for the rest of the train ride.  

            The carriages slowly pulled up to Hogwarts, and the three girls stepped onto the grass.  They looked up at the castle that had been their home for the last 5 years.  

             "Ready for another year?" asked Lily.

            "Well it's too late to go back now," said Shea, while Kyne said,

            "Do we have a choice?" The three girls laughed while walking up the steps into Hogwarts. 

A/N:  Well that was fun to write.  This was my first fic, so please be merciful.  I'm open to criticism, just be nice, please.  


	2. A mask, A Talk, and A Kiss

DISCLAIMER:  Nope, they're still not mine.  Don't I wish it though.  Property of J.K. Rowling, unless they're not.  Eh, you should know what I mean.  

A/N:  Thanks to all of my reviewers.  If I had something to say to one of you specifically, it's down at the bottom.  I can't promise about updates, because I still have a lot of summer reading to do, but I'll try and get chapters up as fast as I can write them.  Again, thanks.

Slow Down

Chapter Two - A Mask, a Talk, and a Kiss.

            The marauders walked through the Entrance Hall and turned right.  They then went through a pair of double doors and entered the Great Hall.  Sirius looked around and quickly found seats at the Gryffindor table next to some younger fourth year girls.  

            One of the fourths year stared at Sirius until he winked at her.  She blushed a deep red and giggled before she turned to her friends and whispered something very fast.  Remus shook his head at Sirius before turning to James.

            "So you're sure everything's ready?  You got all the spells right?"

            "Moony, old pal," James replied, using Remus's nickname.  "You worry too much."

            James kicked Sirius in the shins from under the table.  The sorting hat was just now starting to sing.

            "Ow, Prongs.  What was that for?" Sirius whispered to James across the table.

'Welcome to Hogwarts, 

Or perhaps welcome back.

When it comes to sorting,

 I do have a knack.'

'What house you end up in,

Is mine to choose.

Whichever it is,

You cannot lose.'

            "If you keep flirting with the poor girl, we're going to have to carry her to the infirmary because she went into shock," Peter whispered back for James.  James nodded.  

'Do you have courage,

Are you real brave?

Perhaps being a Gryffindor,

Is what you do crave.'

'Or maybe you're loyal,

And patient as well.

Then go on with Hufflepuff,

With them you will dwell.'

            "You think so?" questioned a now mischievous looking Sirius.

'For those who are wise, 

Their minds full of wit,

Ravenclaw's the table,

That you soon will sit.'

'Is cunning your strong point,

Are you quite sly?

Then Slytherin's your house,

Their pride will not die.'

            "Don't even think about it," answered Remus.  

'So step on up,

Give it a try,

Don't be nervous,

I do not lie.'

            The Great Hall burst into applause as the Sorting Hat finished its song.  Professor McGonagall slowly unrolled a scroll with all the names of the first years.  

            "Ackerly, Camille," she called.  A small blonde haired girl came forward and sat on the stool.  

Lily turned her head up and looked at the enchanted ceiling that showed the weather.  She never got tired of being able to see the sky when inside of the huge castle.  Right now, the sky was a dark blue, dotted with numerous stars.  

The hat shouted out Ravenclaw and Lily started to wonder how long it was going to take.  She was getting hungry.  

~*~*~*~*~*~*~                            ~*~*~*~*~*~*~                         ~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Soon enough, Professor Dumbledore stood up.  He looked a little peculiar with his deep purple robes and foot long beard, but that was the way that Dumbledore was.  

"Welcome, welcome.  I'm glad to see you all are back from your summer holiday.  I won't hold you from the feast any longer," Dumbledore stated.  He sat back down, and gasps could be heard from the first years as food filled the golden platters in front of them.  

After putting some food on her plate, Lily started to eat.  To her, it felt as if she hadn't eaten all day.  Across from her, Shea and Kyne seemed to be engaged in a conversation about which magical animal they'd want to have.

"I think a kneazle would be nicer than a jarvey.  It could warn you if someone was untrustworthy, instead of insulting you," argued Shea.  "Or them," she added as an afterthought.  

"But that's the point," said Kyne.  "The jarvey would insult anyone that walked by you.  That, and it would chase all your garden gnomes away."  She laughed.  A couple of the first years that were sitting close to the girls looked up at them in confusion.  They had never heard of these so-called animals.  Lily looked down at the one sitting next to her.

"You'll learn all about these animals sooner or later.  Are you muggle born?" she asked.  The first year nodded.  "So am I.  I had to learn all about magic when I came here.  Don't worry, you'll catch on quickly enough."  Lily smiled when the first year looked a little more confident.  Shea and Kyne gave Lily a weird look.

"What?" Lily asked.  They shook their heads.

"Nothing," answered Shea.  

~*~*~*~*~*~*~                       ~*~*~*~*~*~*~                             ~*~*~*~*~*~*~

            The marauders looked a bit anxious as everybody started to get filled up.  All four guys had finished eating already and were waiting as patiently as they could.  Soon, the food started to disappear, along with the plates, and Dumbledore stood up again.  

Unfortunately, nobody got to hear what he was about to say at the moment because a giant red sequence mask came floating into the Great Hall.  Dumbledore sat down with a slight smile on his face.  Everybody's attention seemed to be locked on that mask, and whether it was to their delight or chagrin, it started to sing.

'Hogwarts is a lovely school,

I'm so happy to be here

Another year is starting,

No need for a tear.'

'He does know his potions,

But he looks so mad,

Why the frown Severus Snape,

Was the pudding bad?'

            Severus, who had looked annoyed when the song began, nearly turned purple when he heard the second verse.  He glared at the marauders, as he was sure that they were the ones that had put this together.

'She is head girl,

She's real clever too,

For your hard work, Krystal Turpin,

I congratulate you.'

A seventh year girl at the Ravenclaw table blushed furiously at being complimented by a floating mask during the feast.  She shyly waved to the rest of the hall since they were still looking at her. 

'He is our head boy,

and quidditch he plays,

You'll be too busy Egan Zeller,

You'll rest for days.'

The head boy, sitting at the Hufflepuff table, looked appalled at the thought of not being able to handle all of his responsibilities.  He then saw the funny side at being mad at a mask, and started to laugh. 

'I hope you liked my song,

It wasn't way too long,

What I said wasn't wrong,

Don't go ringing a gong.'

The mask floated out of the hall and most people laughed.  Most of them were also confused by the lyrics of the last verse, but shrugged it off.  Remus looked at James. 

"Where did those lyrics come from?" he asked.  James pointed to Sirius.

"He wrote them.  Where he got them from, I don't know."  

Dumbledore stood up once more.  He looked fairly amused.

"If we have no more interruptions," he started with a twinkle in his eyes.  "First years should know that the Forbidden Forest is," he paused.  "Well, it's forbidden.  I should also tell you that magic should not be used between classes in the corridors.  If anyone would like to try out for their house's quidditch team, tryouts will start in two weeks.  I wish you all the best of luck, and now off to bed."  

Lily, Shea, and Kyne got up from where they were sitting and went over to the marauders.  Lily poked James lightly in the head.  He turned around in his seat.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Do we have to show the first years to the common room?" 

"I believe 'zat 'vould be 'ze duty of 'ze fifth year prefects," he said, putting on a fake accent.  She smiled.

"If you say so James."

"But I do say so," he replied.  She rolled her eyes.  

The marauders got up from the table and they all walked out of the great hall together.  After climbing several staircases, and going down many corridors, they finally reached the fat lady's portrait.  James told her the password (Ashwinder Eggs) and they all climbed through the circular entrance into the Gryffindor common room.  

The large, circular common room was decked out in the Gryffindor colours, red and gold.  To the right of the entrance there was a fire against a wall, with two couches, a low table, and a few chairs thrown in front of it.  To the left of the entrance, there were many tables and chairs for those who wished to do homework, read, or play exploding snap.  A little behind the tables, in a more secluded part of the common room, were more couches and chairs.  Straight across from the entrance were the staircases up to the dormitories.  

The seven teens decided to sit in front of the fire, which was almost always lit.  Shea sat on the floor in front of the chair that Sirius decided to sit it.  Remus sat in the chair that across from them.  Kyne was lying down on one of the couches, with her legs thrown over one side.  Peter was sitting on that couch, while Lily and James shared the other couch.  

"So how did you do it?" Shea asked.

"Do what?" Peter asked.

"I've known Sirius Black long enough to know that those last lyrics of the mask were his," replied Shea.  Sirius looked down at her with wide eyes and an innocent face.  "Don't give me that," she said while thwapping one of his legs lightly.  

"We put a singing charm on the mask first off, and then we wingardium leviosa'd it into the hall," Remus said, answering Shea's question.  

"Any reason other than just to have fun?" asked Lily.

"Not really," James replied, looking kind of sheepish.  Lily shrugged.

"I suppose it could've been worse," Kyne said.

"How so?" James asked attentively.  

"Well, you coul--" Kyne started before a hand was put over her mouth.

"No need to be giving them more ideas.  I'm sure they already have enough," interrupted Shea.  "Isn't that right, Sirius?"  He just smiled.  

They all stayed by the fire for a while, enjoying the warmth of it and the company of other people.  Lily suddenly stood up and announced that she was going to go get ready for bed.  

"I'll see you guys tomorrow morning," she called as she walked up the stairs.  James watched Lily walk up the first set of stairs, and across the landing to where the sixth year staircases were.  She looked down to where her friends were and waved down to him before she disappeared up the girl's staircase.  

Little did James know, that Sirius and Remus had noticed this display of obvious affection on James's part.  They exchanged a knowing glance when James wasn't paying attention.  

Within the hour, everyone had taken Lily's lead and had gone up the staircases to their own beds. Kyne was the last one to enter the dorm. Lily was already asleep and Kyne suspected that Shea was in the shower since she heard it running. Kyne decided to take a shower in the morning and headed over to her bed. She had just gotten into her bed when the door to the bathroom opened. Shea walked out in her pajamas and went over to Kyne's bed. She sat down.

"What're you thinking about?" Shea asked.

"How we didn't have our beginning of the year talk with the girls." Kyne looked sad, and Shea knew what she was talking about. For the past years, after the feast, all five girls in the now sixth year dorm had gone up to their room and talked for hours before all falling asleep on random beds or on the floor. But close to the end of last year, Shea, Kyne, and Lily had gotten into a huge fight with the other girls in the dorm, Adena and Saria.   
  


It had started out small enough, little picky stuff about clothes being left on the ground, or using each other's hairbrushes. But then it had escalated when Saria decided that she liked Kyne's at the time boyfriend. Lily and Shea had sided with Kyne, and Adena had sided with Saria. The girls had hardly talked to each other since.   
  


"As bad as our fight was, I think we all could've used some talking. I mean, we had the summer to cool down, right?" Kyne asked. Shea hugged her.   
  


"Yeah, we did. But stuff like that doesn't blow over so easily. We'll just have to see what happens this year I guess," was the response. "I'll see you in the morning ok Kai?"  
  


"Alright. Night Shea."  
  


"Night Kai." Shea got up off of Kyne's bed and headed towards her own which was in between Lily's and Kyne's. She pulled back the covers and got into bed. After closing the hangings around her bed, she fell asleep.   
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~ ~*~*~*~*~*~*~ ~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  


Lily woke up to Kyne jumping on her bed. She hit the unaware Kyne with a pillow, which sent her flying off of Lily's bed and into Shea's. Shea opened her eyes, pulled back her hangings and looked at the site in front of her. Lily was sitting up in bed, holding a pillow as if it were a bat, and Kyne was sprawled out on the floor next to her bed. Shea fell back in bed and covered her head with her pillow.   
  


"No you don't," said Lily. "If I had to get up, so do you." Lily walked over to Shea's bed, stepped over Kyne, and started to hit Shea with her pillow.   
  


"Lemme alomne," came the muffled reply from under the pillow. "Go take a shower you great lump."  Shea got her pillow taken away and then got hit on the head with it.

"Don't call me a great lump, you lazy bum.  And besides, Kyne needs to take a shower." 

"No, I don't," came the reply from the floor.  "I took one before I woke you up, and I think almost everyone is at breakfast.  There's no one else in here, and there's no one in the common room.  I looked."

"Well aren't you proud," was Shea's response.  Kyne sat up and frowned at her.  "Kidding, kidding," Shea said as she got out of her bed.  Kyne ran for the door.  

"I'll wait in the common room for you guys.  Hurry up, or we're going to miss breakfast!"  

Eventually Lily and Shea got ready and came downstairs.  They entered the common room to find James, Remus, and Peter laughing hysterically while Sirius was being tickled by Kyne.  Lily and Shea walked over to where the three boys were and asked what was going on.  When James caught his breath, he told them.  

"Well, as far as we know.  Sirius hid Kyne's wand, and won't tell her where it is, so she took to 'torturing' him."  Sirius was trying to get up and run away from Kyne, but she tackled him to the ground.  James started to laugh again and leaned on Lily for support.  He put one arm around her neck and his head in her hair.   

"Sirius is extremely ticklish," said Shea as she started to laugh.  Sirius was screaming things such as,

"Help me!"  "The cavalry is coming."  "T'wasn't me."  "Oof!" and then the one that Lily liked the most, "Grrr, rawr!"  

"Ow," cried Kyne.  "He bit me!"  

"That's what you get."  Sirius, a little out of breath, walked over to where James was still laughing behind Lily. 

"Where's her wand, Prongs?"  James looked up.

"I have no clue what you're talking about," James replied.

"Jaaaaaaaaames," Sirius whined.  James sighed.

"Fine, here."  James brought out Kyne's wand from his robes and handed it to Sirius over Lily's shoulder.  Sirius walked over to Kyne who was sitting on the floor pouting.  He handed her wand to her and then helped her up.  He pointed to James, who was trying to hide his 5'11 body behind Lily's 5'5 body, and to say the least, it wasn't working real well.  

Kyne started to run at James, but he held Lily around the waist as a hostage.  

"One more step, and Miss Evans gets it," he said, pointing his wand to her head.  

"Oh, no!  Nothing but….wait, what exactly am I getting?" asked Lily.  James looked down at her and smiled wickedly.  

"Wouldn't you like to know."  

"Well, yes.  Considering that I'm the one that's getting whatever it is I'm getting, I would like to know what I'm getting," she replied.  Everyone stared at her after this with confused faces trying to work out what she said.  Kyne took this time to step a bit close to James and Lily.  

"And what makes you think that I care if you do something to Miss Evans?" Kyne questioned James, trying to use reverse psychology.  Lily feigned a look of hurt.

"Because I can see it in your eyes," said James using a fake mystical voice.  He hoped that Kyne wasn't about to tackle him too.  He then let go of Lily and turned her around.

"Thanks love, you've been real helpful."  He kissed her on the cheek, grabbed Sirius's arm, climbed out of the entrance, and ran for it.  

"Oh, no you don't," Kyne said before climbing out of the entrance and running after James.  Lily had a slightly surprised look on her face.

"I feel so used," she said.  Remus, Peter, and Shea, who had watched the whole thing, laughed as they left the common room and went down to breakfast.  

~*~*~*~*~*~                              ~*~*~*~*~*~*~                               ~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A/N:  Ok, that took me a while. 

Starborn:  When Lily said the thing about getting a broom and flying to Germany, it was just a joke to show how bored she was, and to maybe freak out her parents a little.(which she did)  

Tamsy, Daine + Lilac:  Here's your second chapter, and why do I get the feeling that you're the one who's going to be pushing me for more chapters??

Insuna Moonhowl:  I hope this is long enough for you.  I tried.  

Abarraine:  I hope you're not sad anymore.  I have a second chapter now.  

To my other reviewers, Shayley Rain, aka T.S.L. , Bronfelen, and Marcie thank you. 

 You all were so nice in your reviews.  I hope this chapter was up to you guys's standards.  


	3. Confessions, Classes, and the Almighty P...

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DISCLAIMER: They're still J.K. Rowling's. I doubt they'll ever be mine. 

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A/N: I am so sorry about the delay on this chapter, but I do have good reasons. My computer got taken into the shop, so I didn't have any internet connection, and then when I connected another computer, I had to type out my chapter but then it got erased. Believe me, I was pissed off. Anyway. Here's the third chapter. I don't know exactly how the sixth and seventh year schedules are going to be, but hopefully you can understand how I set them up. 

__

Slow Down

Chapter Three – Classes, Confessions, and The Almighty Padfoot

James and Sirius entered the Great Hall a little out of breath. As calmly and inconspicuously as they could, they made their way to the Gryffindor table and sat down.

They were halfway through eating their breakfast when the doors to the Great Hall opened again. However, instead of Kyne coming through the doors, like the two raven haired boys had expected, it turned out to be their two fellow Marauders, who quickly made their way over to James and Sirius and sat down across from them.

"What happened to Kyne?" asked James, a little apprehensively. Remus looked over at James.

"She stopped in the Entrance Hall to talk to Lily and Shea," Remus answered before returning to his breakfast. James eyed the door a little warily.

Sure enough, Lily, Kyne, and Shea walked through the double doors to the Great Hall not less than a minute later. They walked past the Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff tables before reaching the Gryffindor table. To James's relief, Kyne didn't look mad, but either way, he was glad the girls had decided to sit down a couple seats away, just to be safe.

"What classes, besides the ones that we all agreed to take, did you take this year Shea?" Lily asked while looking at her schedule that had just been passed out.

"Which ones did we all agree on?"

"Charms, transfiguration, defense against the dark arts, potions, and astronomy."

"Erm. Then I took care of magical creatures and arithmancy," Shea said while checking her own schedule. "What about-"

"You're still taking arithmancy Shea?" Kyne interrupted.

"Yeah, why?"

"Because Lily and I never took it, and I always wondered why you wanted to do all that extra work." Kyne looked up from her schedule to look at Shea who gave her a slight frown.

"The work's not all that hard. And why would you guys have to be in a class for me to take it?" Kyne shrugged before turning to Lily who had just groaned. 

"What's wrong Lils?" Kyne asked.

"We have about four classes with the Slytherins," she told them. "Or, at least I do." Kyne and Shea shared a worried look over the table before turning back to Lily, the only muggle born of the group. 

It wasn't that they exactly hated everyone in Slytherin, but there were a few problems that made the relationship with them a little complicated. The first problem was the house rivalry between Slytherin and Gryffindor. The two houses battled each other in grades, quidditch, and house points constantly. The rivalry would even sometimes put people in the Hospital Wing from hexes or injuries.

The second problem was a little more complicated. A dark wizard, going by the name of Voldemort, had started to gather some followers. They all believed that only witches and wizards who had wizarding ancestry should be allowed to study magic, and some authorities suspected that Voldemort wanted to take over the ministry and the magical world.

There had been several attacks on muggle borns and half-and-halves over the past couple of years, and a signature of an emerald green skull with a black snake for a tongue had been left as the only clue of who had done it. People had started to call it the Dark Mark, and they knew that only one group used it. Some people were afraid to come home because hey didn't want to see the mark floating above their house. 

A lot of the Slytherin families had wizarding ancestry, and most people knew of a few that were followers of Voldemort, more commonly called Death Eaters. The only reason that the family members weren't in the wizarding jail Azkaban was because they either had a lot of money, or there was just not enough proof to put them there. The same traits and ideals that the parents had were passed on to their children, who then brought them to Hogwarts. The children, like their parents, thought that only children with wizarding background should be allowed to study magic, and had come up with terms like mudblood, a foul name for a muggle born person.

"You'll be okay Lily. You always have one of us in your classes," Shea told her.

"Yeah, and the rest of the Gryffindors will be there too. Don't worry about it that much," Kyne put in. _'But they aren't the ones that are going to be called mudblood over and over again.'_ Lily thought a little sullenly before she got a mischievous light in her eyes.

"Do you _have_ to be in my class?" she asked teasingly. Kyne gawked slightly before lightly slapping Lily on the arm while Shea mock glared at her.

"And to think, I was going to sit next to you," Shea said with an air of unconcern.

"The nerve!" Kyne half exclaimed. 

"I know, I know. The betrayal the hurt, the pain. Oh, my. Oh my!" Lily said sarcastically. The girls fell silent for a second before they all burst out laughing. Students sitting on either side of the girls looked over at them a little worried at their outburst. "We better get going if we want to get our books before class. We all have charms first right?"

"Yes, the class that Lily is _very_ accomplished in," Kyne said, quoting their professor from the end of last year.

"Not like she does bad in any of her other classes," Shea stated.

"You guys don't do bad either," Lily said while she blushed. "Shea, your grades are right behind mine, and you both pass me up in a couple of classes."

"Sure Lily, sure," Kyne said back to her. Lily rolled her eyes and walked out of the Great Hall. They all got their books from Gryffindor Tower and headed down to the third floor, where the charms classroom was.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

Sirius looked over his shoulder briefly at Remus who nodded. They were starting operation GPALL (Getting Prongs to Admit Liking for Lily). Remus thought back to what Sirius had said about helping James. 'We have to help him woo her, but we can't do that until he admits that he likes her,' were his exact words. _'Why did Sirius insist on the word woo?'_ Remus thought while watching James read the note that Sirius had written him. James quickly wrote something down before passing the note back to Sirius and trying to look like he was paying attention to Professor Flitwick's beginning of the year speech.

Sirius looked over his shoulder and frowned a bit at Remus and Peter. _'I guess the first attempt of operation GPALL didn't go over too well with James,'_ Remus thought as Sirius scribbled something down and passed it back to James who scanned the note and wrote something back. _'I think this is going to take a while,'_ Sirius thought as he wrote yet another thing on the piece of paper and passed it back across the table.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Which class do you guys have now?" Kyne asked as the three girls walked out of the charms classroom. "You guys don't take muggle studies, so where are you going?" Shea smiled and Lily looked a bit too happy for Kyne's tastes. No class could be that good.

"We don't have a class right now," Lily answered happily and Kyne looked positively horrified.

"Then what do you guys get to do?"

"I suppose go back to the common room and relax," Shea told her. Kyne pouted.

"That's no fair. I want to go relax."

"Nope, you have muggle studies," Shea teased and Kyne hit her on her arm.

"Are you taking muggle studies again Kyne?" asked Peter as the Marauders weaved their way through the crowd up to where the girls were walking.

"Yeah," said a reluctant Kyne. Sirius walked to one side of her and put his arm around her shoulder.

"Then we have another class together!" Sirius exclaimed.

"Doesn't that just make you happy Kyne?" James asked her, slightly mocking his friend.

"Ecstatic," she deadpanned and Lily and Shea stifled giggles. Kyne smiled and took Sirius's arm off of her shoulder. "Are all of you taking muggle studies again this year?"

"Yes, again," answered Remus. "But you won't be entirely alone with us. You have the Hufflepuffs, and then Saria's also in the class." Kyne nearly stopped walking before Lily lightly pushed her forward and Shea grabbed her wrist. The fight had been the hardest of Kyne and Saria, and neither one was ready to talk to each other yet, no matter how much time had passed. Remus noticed the silence and quickly realized his mistake. "I'm sorry, I forgot. I was just so used to all of you being friends, and the fight, it just slipped my mind." His eyes were wide, as were the rest of the guys'. Kyne had a reputation for exploding, and nobody liked to be on the receiving end of it. She took a deep breath.

"It's okay," she said. Shea slowly let go of Kyne's wrist when she was sure that Kyne wasn't going to blow up at Remus. They all reached the stairwell, and Lily grabbed Kyne's arm before she could go down it with the guys.

"Don't go getting into trouble with Saria okay?"

"I'll stay with the Marauders the whole time. I won't have any contact with Saria. Happy?"

"Yes, very. Go have fun." Lily smiled a bit evilly.

"Yeah, yeah," Kyne mumbled as Lily went and caught up with Shea who was walking up the staircase to the Gryffindor common room. Shea looked over at Lily.

"She's going to be with the Marauders. She'll be fine, stop your worrying. Saria shouldn't be talking to the guys much, if at all. They never were great friends."

"You really are too perceptive. You know that right Shea?" Lily asked. Shea gave the portrait the password, and climbed through the entrance.

"Call it a gift," she replied as Lily climbed through after her. "Which reminds me. You haven't told me about that crush that you said you would."

"When did I say that?"

"Over the summer, in an owl. Don't you remember? You wanted me to help you _sort_ out your feelings, or something like that." Lily's eyes grew wide and she grabbed Shea's arm and pulled her up to the dormitories. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Professor Lesna walked around her class while she was talking.

"We've done a lot of studying of muggles in the past three years, haven't we?" she asked her class. They grumbled a couple of responses before she continued. "Well, the last two years of your muggle studies will be more hands on than actual text work." She watched as a few of the students perked up. "We'll be trying things the muggle way, and seeing how long you can last without using magic. It should be an interesting two years. That is, if you stay in muggle studies next year."

She finished speaking and was at the front of the classroom before a hand shot up. 

"Yes, Mr. Black?"

"What things,_ exactly_, will we be doing?" He had a look of curiosity mixed with apprehension.

"That, is entirely up to you," she said while the students listening suddenly got worried. "Not Mr. Black alone. All of you." The students visibly relaxed. Nobody wanted Sirius Black to devise the curriculum, because although it would be fun, it would also most likely be dangerous, scarring, and potentially fatal. "I want you all to come up with at least three things to do this year. It could be something we've studied, or if you have friends with ideas, you can ask them. Don't be afraid to use the library. We have some very interesting books on muggles in there. You can get started now, just don't chat too loudly," she finished, knowing that no one was going to work.

Kyne turned to the guys, who were sitting next to and behind her. James and Sirius were passing a note back and forth across the table, and Remus and Peter were talking about the assignment. Kyne watched the exchange between Sirius and James before she grabbed the note and started to read it. James and Sirius made attempts to grab the note back, but Kyne read it just out of their reach. Remus and Peter stopped talking to watch the festivities. Kyne's eyes grew wide as she finished the note. She put the note down in front of Sirius while looking at James.

"_Do_ you like Lily?" She asked. The note had gotten her curious, and she couldn't help herself. 

"I, um. Well I mean," he stuttered.

"Because if you do, then I could help you. You know, me being one of her closest friends."

"Why is everyone interested in 'helping' me in my love life?" James said in a half attempt to change the subject. 

"Because we want to see you happy Prongs," said Sirius almost seriously. 

"I'd be happy if you guys stopped thinking that I like Lily."

"But if we stop thinking that you like her, then we won't be able to help you woo her," Sirius tried to reason. Kyne threw a look at Remus at the word woo. He shrugged. 

"I don't need help in 'wooing' anybody Sirius." 

"Just admit that you like her Prongs," Peter said, getting bored.

"Nothing doing."

"James. Tell the truth," Kyne said putting on her puppy dog eyes. James sighed and hung his head.

"Fine! I give up. I guess you could say that I kind of like her," he said slowly. 

"How come you didn't just tell me when I asked?" Sirius faked a look of hurt.

"Simple. My mom told me to never lie to a lady, and Sirius, I'm sorry, but no matter how hard you try, you're never going to be a lady." Kyne laughed and Sirius tried to shoot her a look of great pain.

"But I tried so hard!" Sirius pretended to cry into his arms. "Remus, hold me!" Remus looked scared at the thought of 'holding' his friend and gently pushed Sirius away from him and onto Kyne. She glared at Remus and pulled Sirius up when the bell rang. They all went down to lunch to meet Lily and Shea. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Shea, Kyne, and Lily were walking to potions after lunch. They were talking about the new potions teacher for this year. Supposedly, he was a very qualified wizard who made potions for a living in Diagon Alley. Kyne had a secretive look on her face, but when Lily asked her about it, Kyne would just shrug it off. Shea also had a secretive look about her, but whenever Kyne asked her about it, Lily would get a nervous look in her eyes, and Shea would just shrug it off too. 

They all turned the corner and were walking towards the door when a group of three Slytherins stood in their way. 

"Well, well. It's our own Gryffindor mudblood," said Zachary Rosier. His two friends, Galen Higgs, and Drake Pritchard laughed, while Kyne and Shea both bristled at the word mudblood. "Should we curse her?" Zachary said while reaching inside his robes for his wand. 

"Back off Rosier," Kyne said while she stepped in front of her two friends with her wand pointed at Zachary. 

"Or what? You'll try and convert me into a muggle loving sap like you and the rest of your family. That's just disgusting, defiling the name of wizards by associating with muggles. And besides, _Burcent_, I wasn't speaking to you, was I. I was talking to your little friend there." 

"You messed with her, and therefore you messed with me." 

"Ooh, so I should be afraid of three little girls?" Shea eyes narrowed.

"Yeah, you should be, because you're about to have more curses than you can handle in about half a minute," Shea said in a dangerously calm voice, but her eyes were flashing furiously. Zachary laughed.

"I think the three of us can take any curse that any of you throw at us." Zachary was raising his wand and was about to hex Kyne before a voice stopped him.

"And what if you add three more to that equation Rosier?" James, Sirius, and Remus had walked around the corner and were now standing next to the girls. Rosier looked from one to the other before he turned away quickly and stalked off. 

"You guys okay?" Sirius asked as he picked Shea up and spun her around.

"I'd be better if you would stop spinning me Sirius!" 

"Oops. Sorry." He put Shea down and they all walked into the potions room.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Remus, Sirius, and James were all waiting for Peter and the girls to get back from their last class. Peter, Kyne, and Lily had herbology, while Shea was in Arithmancy. They were arguing about which quidditch team was better when they heard a shriek from over where the entrance was. They all looked over and started to laugh. 

The boys had gotten bored and had set up a prank that changed the length, colour, and pattern of the robes you were wearing. A fifth year named Enid Banin was standing in front of the portrait with bright yellow robes on. They had bright blue triangles and were cut just below her knee. She was furious and looked around the common room to find the three Marauders laughing. She stormed over to them. 

"SIRIUS! TAKE THIS CHARM OFF OF ME!" she yelled in his face, bringing more attention to her than she probably wanted. 

"It won't come off for a day," Remus told her. "But you can always go change robes. That'd work," he said quickly when she sent him a death glare. She ran up to her dorm quickly to change out of the eye damaging robes. Sirius looked confused.

"How did she know who I was?" he asked. James started to laugh, which confused Sirius even more. 

"Sirius, she had a huge crush on you last year," James managed to get out while he was laughing. 

"She did? How come I didn't know about it?" James was nearly falling off the couch so Remus decided to take over the conversation.

"Because you're clueless Sirius. She even asked us for advice on how to get close to you." Sirius just scratched his head.

This was the sight that Kyne, Lily, Shea, and Peter all saw when they entered the common room before they noticed that their robes were different. They walked over to the couches and sat down close to the three boys.

"Whose idea was it to put the charm over the entrance?" Shea asked, already knowing the answer. 

"Mine!" Sirius exclaimed, happy to know what was going on again.

"Sirius, you do realize that you have to go through there to get to dinner right?" James and Remus looked stunned, while Sirius looked slightly amused.

"We could always take the charm off," Remus said.

"NEVER!" yelled Sirius and the whole common room went silent as they stared over at Sirius. He waved at them and they all went back to what they were doing. "We have to deal with our own pranks. Wormtail did," Sirius motioned to Peter who was sitting in a chair in oversized electric blue robes. "And besides, if we get caught by our own prank, the blame won't be put on us."

"Yes it will," said Peter. "We got caught by our own water balloons last year, and we still got blamed for it."

"This is different," Sirius said.

"How?"

"IT JUST IS! DON'T ARGUE WITH THE ALMIGHTY PADFOOT!" Sirius yelled out and the common room went silent again before they realized it was just Sirius and went back to talking. 

"Almighty Padfoot?" asked Kyne.

"Yes, the almighty Padfoot. And by order of the almighty Padfoot you will accompany me down to dinner." Sirius held out his arm for Kyne to take. She hesitantly took it and was pulled towards the portrait. Both teenagers disappeared from sight in a blur of purple and light orange robes. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A/N: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. It's longer than the other two I think. Hopefully the next chapter will be up sooner. 


	4. Water, Beds, and Puppy Dog Eyes

**DISCLAIMER:**  All recognized characters aren't mine.  Right then.

**A/N:**  Hello all.  Since school started, I'll probably get chapters up on weekends now.  Again, I'm sorry on the delay for this chapter too.  I've had half of it written for a while, but a bunch of things had come up which I suppose prevented me from writing and updating.  Here's the fourth one.  

Slow Down 

Chapter 4 – Water, Beds, and Puppy Dog Eyes

             The seven students sat at dinner nearly three weeks later.  Students, teachers, and caretakers alike had all gotten used to being back at school, and everyone was glad that it was finally Friday.  Excited murmurs could still be heard in the Great Hall from some third years because of Dumbledore's announcement before dinner.  He had told everyone that the first Hogsmeade trip was to be in three weeks, and since the third years had never been before, they were very excited.  

            "I am so tired," said Shea as she yawned.  Her head dropped onto Sirius's shoulder, as he was sitting right next to her.  

            "Why?" asked Lily who was sitting across from her.  "Too much homework?"

            "No, not really.  It's just that Mr. Quidditch Slave Driver here is having practice everyday."  Shea half glared at James who shrugged.

            "We _have_ to win the quidditch cup this year.  Ravenclaw beat us out last year, and then Hufflepuff was the year before that.  And then the year before that was-"

            "WE'VE HEARD IT BEFORE JAMES!" a bunch of people, including Shea and Sirius yelled at the aforementioned quidditch captain.  The other people were some of the Gryffindor quidditch players who had decided to sit a couple seats down from James.  He smiled a little sheepishly before shutting up and shrugging again.

            They all finished their dinners and were talking in the Great Hall since nobody felt like going up to Gryffindor Tower just yet.  Shea's eyes were closed and she was half trying to fall asleep on Sirius's shoulder when a hand on her arm startled her.  She turned around in her seat to see a seventh year Ravenclaw named Conner Quirke.  He smiled down at her a little nervously because Sirius, who was very protective of Shea, was sitting right next to her.  

            "Hi Conner," Shea said while smiling.  

            "Hey Shea.  I was wondering if you had, erm," he paused and quickly glanced at Sirius before continuing.  "If you had thought any about yesterday."  Shea's smile quickly left her face.  

            "Um, no.  Not really.  Can I get back to you about that?"  

            "Yeah, sure.  I'll see you later."  He turned to leave.

            "Bye Conner."  

            "Bye Shea."  

            Conner walked out of the Great Hall and Shea turned back around in her seat while frowning slightly.  Kyne and Lily shared a glance before they both looked at Shea who looked like she was in a staring contest with Sirius.  

            "What did Quirke ask you Shea?"  

            "He asked me out," she said slowly with a quick, fake smile.

            "**WHAT?**" Sirius yelled.  Shea's shoulders tensed at the sudden outburst, and James's eyebrows rose.  Sirius quickly stood up and picked up Shea by her waist.  He threw her over his shoulder and started to walk out of the Great Hall following the same path that Conner had taken just a few minutes ago.  

            "Sirius let me go," Shea said while she hit his back with her hands.  She was aware of the many pairs of eyes that were following them now, and wanted them to stop staring at her.  

            "No.  I want to talk to you."  Sirius held her legs down from kicking him in the face.  

            "We could talk without you carrying me!" Shea raised her voice a little.  They were almost at the doors to the Great Hall.

            "We are going to talk without me carrying you.  I'm just finding a place for us to talk."  Shea tried to twist out of Sirius's arms to no avail.  She decided to stop struggling and wait for Sirius to put her down.  

 ~*~*~*~*~*~*~                                       ~*~*~*~*~*~*~                                        ~*~*~*~*~*~*~

            The students in the Great Hall stared at the closed doors that the two best friends had just exited through.  Some turned around to look at the remaining marauders while others just shrugged it off and went back to their own business.  

            "Did anyone know about Conner?" Lily asked.  

            "If Sirius didn't know, I don't think anyone would," Peter answered her.

            "You never know.  Shea's told us stuff that she didn't tell Sirius at first," Kyne said.  

            "Either way.  They'll work it out and be fine tomorrow," James said while drinking the rest of his pumpkin juice.  "Or at least they better be.  We have practice tomorrow."  Everybody around James groaned.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~                                        ~*~*~*~*~*~*~                                         ~*~*~*~*~*~*~

            Sirius stopped close to the lake and decided to sit under an old willow tree.  He gently put Shea down on her feet and sat down against the tree.  She scowled at him for a minute before sitting down next to him.  

            "You didn't have to do that you know," she told him quietly.

            "Yes I did," he said stubbornly.  Shea sighed.  "Why didn't you tell me that some guy had asked you out?"

            "Sirius, it just happened yesterday.  And even so, I hardly get to talk to you anymore.  We both have quidditch practice, and I have all my homework, and you should have homework too.  We've just been really busy lately.  You know I wouldn't have kept anything like that from you on purpose."  Sirius ran his hands through his hair.  

            "Yeah, I know."  Shea looked over at him.

            "Then what's the problem?"  He met her eyes and sighed.

            "I don't want you getting hurt Shea.  You mean a lot to me, and I have to look out for you."

            "You have to?" Shea interrupted while smiling.

            "Yes," Sirius said firmly.  "I have to.  You may think Quirke's a nice guy, but he doesn't have the best reputation in all of Hogwarts.  He's hurt a couple of girls, and I don't want you added to that list."  Shea smiled.  

            "Thanks Sirius."  He put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her into a hug.

            "You're like my little sister Shea.  I care about you."  She lightly hit him in his stomach.

            "I thought macho guys like you didn't express their feelings," she teased him.  

            "Oh no.  We express them quite enough.  It's just that some guys aren't macho enough to admit to it."  Sirius played along with the familiar dialogue that had passed between them many times.  Shea tried not to smile.

            "And you're saying that you're macho enough to admit it?"

            "Of course I am.  I am the most macho guy that you will ever find.  I am unique."  

            "Yes, you are, aren't you Sirius.  Or should I say, the almighty Padfoot?"  He smirked down at her.

            "Yes, I am the almighty Padfoot aren't I?"  Shea rolled her eyes and rested her head against his shoulder again.  He kissed the top of her head before putting his head on top of hers.  They caught up on each other's lives, and reminisced about the past before Shea fell asleep.  Sirius let her sleep until he was sure it was well past midnight, and instead of waking her up, carried her back to Gryffindor Tower.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~                                        ~*~*~*~*~*~*~                                        ~*~*~*~*~*~*~

             Remus woke up to chaos in the boys' dormitories.  He drowsily propped himself up on his elbows and looked around the room to find the source of all the noise.  He found it at the foot of Sirius's bed.  James was trying to pull Sirius out of his bed as quietly as possible, which apparently wasn't very quiet at all.  The two boys were both yelling and cursing at each other for different reasons.  Sirius yelled at James because he didn't want to get up, and James was yelling at Sirius because he wouldn't wake up.  

            "We have quidditch practice today Sirius.  Get up!"  James pulled on Sirius's legs again.

            "I don't care if we have bloody quidditch practice today.  It's Saturday and I'm going to sleep."  Sirius pulled his legs out of James's grasp and continued to lie in his bed.  James was going for Sirius's legs again when a pillow hit him in the head.  He looked around bewildered at the thought of a flying pillow.  Obviously James wasn't the brightest person in the morning.  

            "Over here genius," Remus said.  James spun around to look at Remus who was still in bed.  He noticed one of the pillows on Remus's bed was gone and finally put two and two together.  

            "Why'd you throw a pillow at me Moony?"  

            "You're a wizard, James, with a wand.  Magical powers and all."  James still looked a little hazy on what Remus was saying.  Remus restrained himself from flinging another pillow at him.  "Use your want to wake him up, or make him stay out of his bed or something."  James's eyes lit up.  

            "Thanks Moony."  Remus watched as James grabbed his wand from his desk and thought of something that would keep Sirius out of his bed.  Remus flopped back into his bed and was almost asleep again when he heard a loud roar come from the bed on his left, where Sirius's was located.  Remus kicked back his covers and threw his legs over the side of his bed.  _'Well, I'm not getting back to sleep after that.  I might as well get up.'_  

            Peter, who mysteriously hadn't heard any of what had been happening, woke up when Sirius yelped.  He pulled back the hangings around his bed and looked out at his three friends.  One was sitting on his bed, watching the other two, clearly amused at what he was looking at.  One of the other two, however, was standing next to his bed, soaking wet, while the other one had a pleased smile on his face.   

"What happened?" Peter asked sleepily.

            "James thought it'd be nice to wake me up with a shower in bed," Sirius said while shaking his head and spraying James with cold water.  

            "Just thought I'd save you some time Padfoot.  Is there anything wrong with that?" James asked putting on an innocent expression.  

            "There is if my bed is going to grow mold in the next couple of days," Sirius grumbled while walking towards the bathroom.  He turned suddenly and charged at James knocking him into the still showering bed.  James grabbed Sirius's arm at last minute causing Sirius to tumble into the soaked bed.  They began to wrestle as Remus and Peter struggled to not laugh.  Bringing attention to themselves at a time like this would be bad for them.  

Unfortunately, they did laugh, and when James and Sirius heard this, they stopped wrestling.  Peter's eyes grew wide, and he started to scramble off his bed, but before he could get all the way off his bed, Sirius gave Peter the same treatment that James had gave him a couple minutes earlier.  Peter soon found himself sitting on his bed, soaking wet.  

In the bed to Peter's left, Remus was found scowling at James who had performed the same charm on his bed and was laughing at his soaking friend.  Remus grabbed his wand and muttered something under his breath.  James's bed, which was on the other side of Sirius's, started to pour down water.  James glared at Remus who grinned.

"Just repaying the favor Prongs."  James sat down with a squish on Remus's bed, while Sirius jumped onto his own bed.

The door to the dormitory opened suddenly and three girls looked into the room.  

"What happened in here?" Kyne asked, stunned at the sight of the four beds.

"We all thought we'd like waterfalls in our room?" James answered.  Lily's eyebrows scrunched up at that statement.  She shook her head and looked at the floor.  Amazingly enough it wasn't wet, which was strange since the beds were still pouring water.  "Shea, how come you aren't getting ready for practice?"

"James!  It's Saturday.  We have practice almost everyday.  Give it a rest!  If you keep on working us this hard, we're going to be so worn out when games actually come that all of this practicing will be for nothing," Shea practically yelled at him.  James, who was taken aback at Shea's exclamation, silently nodded and everyone else in the room grinned widely.  It wasn't often that you heard Shea yell, but when you did, it was fun to watch.

Sirius jumped out of bed and all three girls stepped back so they wouldn't be splashed with water.  Unfortunately, Shea was out of luck in that department because Sirius ran up to her and hugged her.

"Thank you Shea!  Now I can go back to sleep."  Sirius ran out the door and everyone in the room stared after him.  Shea was half pouting because she was now wet from Sirius's hug.  She shrugged and sat in Remus's bed between him and James.  _'If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.'_  

Lily and Kyne looked at Shea as if she was batty.  Lily watched her whisper something into James's ear and watched as he got a mischievous grin.  He looked over at Lily and she understood.  He got up off of the bed and walked towards Lily who was backing away towards the door.  

"Where are you going Lily?" he asked, putting on a puppy dog face.

"Anywhere that is away from water, beds, and those eyes of yours."  She stopped to think about what she had just said and James took the time to run at her, pick her up, and throw her on his bed, which was closest to the door and Lily.  She squealed at the temperature of the water and started to slap James's arm, as he was sitting down on the bed next to her.  

"Such violence Lily dear."  She scowled and flopped back in his bed.  "And what about my eyes?"

"They're an interesting colour, and then you do that whole puppy dog eyes thing, and," she paused.  "Yeah."  

"Are you saying that you like my eyes Lily dear?"  James tried not to smirk.

"Of course not, I was just telling you that they're weird."  She smiled up at him innocently.  He scowled and she laughed.  "I'm just kidding James.  Of course I like your eyes."  He poked her in her stomach and she squeaked.  He laughed while he laid down next to her.  

Peter got up off his bed and headed for the door.

"I'm going to go get us all some breakfast.  I'll be back soon.  Anybody want anything in particular?"  Nobody answered Peter, and he walked out through the door with a squish as Sirius came running through it and collided with Kyne who was trying to exit the room.  

"I didn't know where I could go to sleep, and besides, my clothes are here," Sirius said sheepishly while grinning.  Kyne nodded as if what he had said was the most obvious thing in the world, and continued to head towards the door.  Sirius quickly assessed the situation in the room and before Kyne could argue with him, he grabbed her arm and pulled her towards one of the beds.  She started to pull her arm back, but Sirius tightened his grip and pushed her onto the bed.  

"Well aren't we all a happy group of soaking people," Kyne said sarcastically while brushing her hair out of her face.  

"I'm quite happy," Shea told her from Remus's bed.  Together, they had come up with an umbrella charm, so the water was pouring around them and not on them.  They were both sitting comfortably against the backboard of his bed.  

"You would be," Kyne snapped jokingly.  "You and you're umbrella-ish charm."  Shea stuck her tongue out at Kyne while Remus grinned.  

Lily took her wand out of the pajama pants she was wearing and imitated the charm that Remus had put on his bed.  The water stopped pouring in the middle of the bed and Lily smiled before she made James dry out the bed.  

"Demanding little witch aren't you?" James asked.  Lily raised an eyebrow.  "I didn't mean it like that," he said quickly.  "I mean, you are a witch, not a -"  Lily laughed.

"Relax James.  I get it," Lily assured him.  James sighed in relief.

"Kyne, can you make the bed stop pouring water?" Sirius asked Kyne.

"Yes."  Kyne had closed her eyes and was resting on Sirius's bed while the water still rained down.  Sirius stared at her.

"Well, aren't you going to stop it?"

"I said I could, I didn't say I would."

"Please Kyne."

"But I like the water."

"You didn't even want to be in the room earlier!"

"That was because I wasn't wet.  But now, I'm already wet, so I don't mind the water," Kyne told him.

"Please!" he exclaimed.  

"And if I don't?"  He grinned evilly.  

"I'll do this."  He grabbed her by the waist and started to tickle her.  She shrieked.  

"STOP IT!"  

"Not until you make the water stop."  He continued to tickle her and she started to hit him.

"Fine! I'll make the water stop.  Just stop it!"

Sirius stopped tickling her, and she grabbed her wand.  She said a spell that made the water stop falling completely from his bed and the rest of the beds.  Peter re-entered the room and James transfigured a chair in the corner to become a table for all the food.  Peter placed all the food on the table and everyone got out of the three beds to go eat.  

~*~*~*~*~*~*~                                        ~*~*~*~*~*~*~                                        ~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A/N: It's not as long as I'd like it to be, but I wanted to get something up for you guys.  I hadn't been in the mood to write because I haven't been that happy.  My dad is getting a new job, so we're moving, and I didn't want to write anything depressing for you guys, so I waited until I was a bit happier.  Thanks for waiting.

Starborn –I'm glad that you like my l/j story.  

Kayo – Thanks for doing the before reading when I'm writing.  You keep on reminding me that I have to work on this.  Thankie.

To all my other reviewers, MarauderLuver4-ever, Shayley Rain, trashcan, tom girl, almighty me, abarraine, and allie, thank you.   


	5. The Dark, A Fireplace, and a Couple

**DISCLAIMER:  ** They aren't mine!  Stop calling me!

**A/N:**  I'm trying I really am.  It's just hard to write with school and all that other…jazz.  Then I couldn't figure out how to sign on with that secure login thing.  Oh, that and I forgot my password, and I couldn't get it for some reason.  I wrote a little during math.  That was interesting.  I seem to get inspiration in that class for some really odd reason.  Tis odd.  Onward!!

Slow Down 

Chapter 5 –  The Dark, a Fireplace, and a Couple

            It was dark in the common room.  A shadow was tiptoeing across the entrance. _'Where'd everyone go?  Um, I should probably keep moving.  I can't let him find me.'_

            She looked frantically around the dark, quiet room.  There was still no one in sight.  She crept as quietly and as quickly as she could towards the couch when a huge shadow came catapulting out of the darkness.  The shadow hit her and they both tumbled over the back of the couch, landing on the soft pillows.  The girl was pinned between the couch and the shadow.  

            "AAAAAHHH!  Flying rabbits of doom!" the girl screamed.  The shadow backed off a little.

            "What?" James asked.  Lily shrugged.  "Either way, Lily dear, you're it."  James lightly tapped Lily on the head, scrambled off of her and the couch, and then ran back into the darkness.  Lily sat up on the couch and straightened her shirt before getting up.  She tried to make her green eyes focus in the darkness.  _'Now, if I was a bunch of teenagers in a dark, closed, circular room, where would I be?'_

            Half an hour ago, the Marauders and the girls had been sitting in the common room, bored out of their minds.  Everybody else in the tower had gone to sleep, but the seven teens just hadn't been tired.  Then, Sirius had gotten an idea.  The girls had protested as much as they could.  They begged, they bribed, and they batted their eyelashes, but to no avail.  The boys had decided.  They were playing tag, in the dark, with one rule.  You could only tag someone on the head.  

~*~*~*~*~*~*~                   ~*~*~*~*~*~*~                  ~*~*~*~*~*~*~

            Kyne followed the body that was attached to the hand she was holding.  She grabbed the wrist of the person in front of her and pulled gently.  

            "Sirius," she whispered.  "Are you sure you know where we're going?"

            "Yes, now be quiet before James finds us."

            "Lily."  Sirius turned around.

            "What?"  

            "Lily's it."  

            "Okay." 

            "You said…"  Sirius covered Kyne's mouth with his free hand to keep her from raising her voice.  

            "Shh.  I get it."  He took his hand away from her mouth and continued to walk.  "Come on."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~                   ~*~*~*~*~*~*~                  ~*~*~*~*~*~*~

            Remus stopped quickly as he heard some shuffling to the left of him.  He ducked quickly, and watched as a fluffy looking pillow flew over his head.  The room proceeded to be quiet as he crouched there silently, waiting for any noise that would tell him if there was anyone around.  He started to half walk half crawl towards the wall when something poked him in his side.  He looked sideways and saw Lily sitting next to him.  Remus sat down and Lily tapped him on the head.  She grinned.

            "Sorry Remus."  She got to her feet and skipped away from him.  _'Great.  Just great,' Remus thought as he slowly got up and looked around the dark room.  _

~*~*~*~*~*~*~                   ~*~*~*~*~*~*~                  ~*~*~*~*~*~*~

            Peter sat in a soft armchair on the right side of the staircase.  Nobody had found him yet, and he had been sitting there for almost the whole game.  The only time he hadn't been sitting there was when he had been it at the very beginning of the game.  He knew it wasn't hide-and-go-seek, but technically he wasn't hiding, so technically he was playing by the rules.  That, and nobody had said they couldn't sit down.  

            He had tagged Kyne, who had tagged Shea, who then got Remus, who tagged Sirius, and then it went from Sirius to James.  James had then tackled Lily and made her it, who then snuck up on Remus, who was currently it.  Peter squashed himself into the back of the armchair as he saw a shadow pass by him.  The shadow, who Peter guessed was Remus, walked around the chair and disappeared behind it.  Peter silently sighed a sigh of relief.  He didn't enjoy being it, and was quite content to stay seated in the armchair until everyone got tired of playing.

            Unfortunately, Peter was going to be denied the comfort of his chair.  Remus, who had indeed seen Peter sitting down, crept up on the chair from behind.  He looked over the top of the chair and saw a mop of hair beneath him.  He slowly tapped Peter on the head.  The aforementioned boy, sitting in the chair, looked up.  He let out a defeated breath of air and got up from the chair.  

            "Just had to do it, didn't you Remus?"  Remus patted Peter on the back before he disappeared into the shadows.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~                   ~*~*~*~*~*~*~                  ~*~*~*~*~*~*~

            Shea stood as still as she could against the wall.  She thought that if she stayed there, no one would find her.  However, the situation with Remus and Lily had been pretty close to her, and now Remus was back.  She pressed herself up against the wall as Remus continued to walk closer to her.  She felt him stand next to her on the wall and she turned her head to look at him.  She raised her eyebrows in a question when he didn't tag her.

            "Peter's it, not me," Remus whispered.  Shea nodded in understanding.  They both leaned against the wall silently while they waited to hear any sounds of the continued game.  "Did you and Sirius settle out everything from yesterday?" Remus asked in a whisper after a while.

            "Yeah, I think so.  Why?"  Shea whispered back.  Remus shrugged.

            "Sirius didn't say anything about what had happened, and I just wanted to know if everything was okay."

            "Yeah, I guess everything's okay." 

            "What about Conner?" Remus asked.

            "Oh, um.  I don't quite know yet."  Remus nodded and motioned that he was going to walk away.  Shea smiled at him and closed her eyes as she rested against the wall.  Peter chose this time to sneak up on Shea and pat her on the head.  She opened her eyes and looked up at Peter, as he was taller than her by seven inches.  

            "You're it," he whispered.

            "No shit Sherlock."

            "Up yours Watson," Peter replied.  Shea grinned.  

            "Get out of here."  Shea pushed Peter away from her and got herself up off of the wall. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~                   ~*~*~*~*~*~*~                  ~*~*~*~*~*~*~

            Lily felt her way around the darkest part of the common room.  She had been walking around for a while, and her feet hurt a little.  _'How long do they want to play this game?'_ Lily thought as she felt her way around the couch.  She walked forward thinking that nothing was there when she stubbed her toe on a low table.

            "Ow!" she exclaimed quietly.  She pouted as she sat down on the floor and rubbed her toe.  She then smiled as she realized something.  _'No one can see me, and yet I'm pouting.  That's funny.'  She laughed at herself silently before getting up and trying to see if anyone was near her.  She didn't see anyone and decided that she would continue to walk until she found someone.  _

            Lily was walking behind the tables where people did their homework when she ran into a tall person.  She looked up as the person turned around.  She tilted her head to the side to get a better view.  

            "James?"  

            "Lily?"  

            "How long are we going to play this game?"

            "I don't know.  I guess until we stop?" James said a little questioning.

            "Right.  Because when we stop the game will be over."

            "Of course.  What else would it be?"

            "Dead?" 

            "But that would be sad."

            "Would it?" Lily asked.

            "Don't you know?"

            "Should I know?"

            "Why wouldn't you know?"

            "Um….erm."  

            "Ha!  You lose!" Lily did a little dance as James stood there.  "It's okay James, you might win next time.  I'm just so much better at the question game than you are."  She patted him on his arm.  

            "Thanks Lily, you just make my ego go right through the roof."  Lily laughed.

            "Aww.  Did James get his feelings hurt?" Lily asked.  "I'm sorry.  Come here."  James eyed her warily before stepping closer to her.  She pulled him into a hug and looked up at him.  "Better?"

            "Very."  Lily grinned and pushed him away before sitting down in one of the chairs.  James pulled out the chair next to her and sat down.

            "How long are you planning on staying here?" James asked.

            "Until the game is dead," Lily answered.  James smirked.

            "Mind if I stay?"

            "Of course not."  

~*~*~*~*~*~*~                   ~*~*~*~*~*~*~                  ~*~*~*~*~*~*~

            "Sirius!  This is cheating!"

            "No it's not, and besides no one can find us here, so we won't get tagged."

            "Exactly!  This is tag, not hide-and-go-seek."

            "But no one said you couldn't hide when playing tag."

            "But.."

            "Yes?"

            "I mean.."

            "Yes?"

            "Fine."

            "See, my logic makes sense."

            "But it's a fireplace Sirius!  What happens if someone floos in?"

            "They won't.  Relax."

            "But it's a fireplace," Kyne nearly whined quietly.  She pouted.

            Sirius had led Kyne into the fireplace in the common room.  To say it was dark would have been an understatement, because as dark as it was in the common room, you could still see something.  The fireplace had no light in it whatsoever.

            "How long are we staying in here?"

            "Until someone finds us, or until morning comes and everyone forgets about us," came the reply from the darkness.  There was silence for a couple of minutes before Kyne said something.  

            "Sirius, why are you patting me on the head?"

            "I'm not.  My hands are right here."  Sirius stuck out his arms.  Kyne backed up suddenly and grabbed Sirius's wrists.

            "Those weren't my hands, Sirius."

            "Heh…oops??"  Kyne let go of Sirius's wrists.

            "That doesn't answer my question though.  Who's patting me on the head?"  A quiet 'lumos' was heard as the fireplace lit up.  

            "Tis me!  Shea the great!  You're it dear Kyne.  Ta!"  Shea, who had startled the pants off of Kyne and Sirius, crawled out of the fireplace and left the two alone in the dark again.  

            "Well that was different," Sirius said.  "But she did have a good idea."  Sirius took out his wand and muttered a spell as his wand lit up.  Kyne stuck out her bottom lip in a pout.

            "I don't want to be it."  She perked up and tapped Sirius on the head.  "So, now you're it."  Sirius blinked at the sudden change of attitude.  He shook his head to clear away his musings.

            "But I don't want to be it either."  He reached out quickly and tapped Kyne on the head.  Kyne narrowed her eyes and leant over to Sirius.  She hit him lightly on the head.

            "You have to be it."  Sirius reached over again and tapped Kyne on the head again, his lit wand lying forgotten on the floor.

            "And why do I have to be it, oh all knowing Kyne?"  Kyne reached over and touched Sirius head again.  

            "Because I said so."  

            Sirius moved over a little to tag Kyne, but she leant backwards so that he couldn't.  He put his weight on one arm and reached out with the other, but Kyne grabbed his arm causing him to lose his balance and fall down on top of her.  Kyne, then, lost her balance because of the extra weight, and ended up lying on the ground with Sirius on top of her.  

            "Looks like the situation is reversed this time, doesn't it?" Sirius asked as he propped himself up with his elbows above her.  

            "Yeah, looks like it," Kyne answered from underneath him.  Sirius grinned and quickly tapped Kyne on the head.  She sighed.

            "This won't get us anywhere Sirius.  You'll keep tagging me and then I'll tag you back, and then it'll go back and forth and back and forth."  

            "I have an idea."

            "Will I like it?"

            "You won't be it."

            "Okay."

            "I'll be it, if you promise to do something."  Sirius paused and Kyne looked up at him.

            "What do you want?"

            "I want you to go out with me."  Kyne's eyes widened.

            "You must be joking."

            "No.  I'm not.  I want you to go out with me."  Kyne smiled and nodded.

            "Okay."  

            "Okay?"

            "Yeah, okay.  I'll go out with you."  

            "Are you saying that just so that you won't be it, or are you-"  Kyne pulled Sirius down by the front of his robes.  

            "Stop talking."  Kyne tilted her head up and kissed Sirius gently.  He closed his eyes as he brought one of his hands up and lightly touched her neck.  Kyne pulled back slowly.  

            "You do realize we're still in a fireplace while everyone out there still thinks we're playing a game of tag?" she whispered quietly.  Sirius's thumb moved across her neck and he raised his eyes to meet hers.  

            "Who cares?"  He leant down and kissed her again, deepening the kiss a little.  Kyne wrapped her arms around Sirius's neck and forgot about everyone in the common room as she lay on the ground of the fireplace underneath her new boyfriend.  

~*~*~*~*~*~*~                   ~*~*~*~*~*~*~                  ~*~*~*~*~*~*~

**A/N:**  I didn't want to end it here, because it's not that long, but it was a convenient place to stop.  We're having some breaks from school coming up.  Not very long ones, and not ones that are necessarily going to be free, but it'll still give me time to type it up.  I had most of this written in my notebook, I just couldn't type it up.  

Thanks to Rei, Kayo, kimmerz, ManiacPlea, MarauderLuver4-ever, Shayley Rain, and Mequel.  


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